The potato harvest started recently in the Spanish region of Castile-Leon, and this week, it has been gaining momentum. "The prospects for this season are good. The quality is generally good, since both the planting and cultivation have been carried out correctly and the weather has been very favorable from the start, except for some storms that hit specific areas in the region, especially the earliest ones," says Juan Manuel Coello, commercial director of Patatas Meléndez, the leading company in the Spanish fresh potato sector in Valladolid.
"Some report that the yields are somewhat lower and that sizes are falling a little short as a result of the storms, but this only applies to the earliest varieties. With the late or semi-late varieties, yields will be the same as in other years, and even higher," says Juan Manuel.
The Spanish potato campaign is thus moving to Castile-Leon after having been carried out in previous months in more southern regions of the country, from where Patatas Meléndez gets supplies in order to maintain its wide domestic product range.
"At the end of April we started with the Spanish new potato campaign in Andalusia and the Region of Murcia. The harvest in Andalusia could be described as very good this year; better than the one in Murcia, which was affected by the weather. Heavy rains ground it all to a halt there for almost 2 weeks, breaking the pace of the campaign. Besides, the quality has also been compromised due to the waterlogging of the soil. Also, temperature contrasts have facilitated the spread of certain types of fungal diseases affecting the skin of the tubers," says the sales manager.
"From Andalusia and the Region of Murcia we moved to the area of Castile-La Mancha, where we have also ended up having a good season with acceptable qualities, and from now on and throughout the summer we will continue in Castile-Leon, the most important area for us in Spain in terms of potato production. Of the more than 90,000 tons of potatoes of national origin that we expect to market this year, Castile-Leon will account for around 60,000. In total, if we include our plant in France, we expect to market around 200,000 tons.
The demand for domestic potatoes continues to grow
According to data from the Report on Food Consumption in Spain 2020 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, potatoes were one of the fresh products with the highest increase in consumption in households last year. The demand for them increased by 15.9% over the previous year, compared to 12.6% in the case of vegetables and 10.0% in that of fruit.
Undoubtedly, this increase in potato consumption in 2020 was very strongly influenced by the pandemic and the restrictions implemented in order to control it. Juan Manuel Coello says despite the fact that the situation in 2021 is different, there continues to be a very good demand. "In fact, the marketing levels are similar to last year's. Sales are good, especially now that we are working with potatoes of domestic origin," he says.
"We are focused on the marketing of quality washed potatoes and we have many agreements in place, so everything is nicely planned and organized. For years, our policy has been to sign contracts in order to guarantee the growers' profitability. However, in the free market the average prices have also been at the right level for the whole value chain," he says.
The campaign in Castile-Leon is thus starting with very good prospects for both production and marketing, as well as other areas. "Domestic products are clearly trendy. This applies to both new potatoes, which are always highly demanded by consumers, and to potatoes for frying. This trend is very good news for the Spanish sector and for the economy of the rural areas where the products are grown."
Patatas Meléndez is also strongly focused on innovation, paying special attention to the sustainability of its products. "In the next few weeks we will be launching new sustainable and plastic-free packaging formats on which we have been working internally with our R&D department," says Juan Manuel Coello.
For more information:
Juan Manuel Coello
Patatas Meléndez
T: +34 983 812 920
jm.coello@patatasmelendez.com
www.patatasmelendez.com